Technosols as a sustainable solution for mine closure and rehabilitation

Authors: Perlatti, F; Evangelista Kutchenski Junior, F; Stutz Salgueiro, R; de Azevedo Coimbra, R; Carneiro de Jesus Neto, J

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DOI https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2515_103

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Perlatti, F, Evangelista Kutchenski Junior, F, Stutz Salgueiro, R, de Azevedo Coimbra, R & Carneiro de Jesus Neto, J 2025, 'Technosols as a sustainable solution for mine closure and rehabilitation', in S Knutsson, AB Fourie & M Tibbett (eds), Mine Closure 2025: Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Mine Closure, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 1-12, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2515_103

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Abstract:
One of the major challenges faced by mining companies worldwide is the management of tailings and waste materials generated by mining activities, as well as the lack of sufficiently healthy soils for effective mine closure and rehabilitation. In many cases, mining sites operate in remote areas where post-mining rehabilitation is hindered by the availability of suitable cover materials to support plant growth in environmental recovery processes or enable future economic land uses, such as converting mined areas into productive agricultural fields. In this review paper, we will address technosols, which are a class of anthropogenic soils defined by the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB-FAO) in 2006. These soils are constructed using human-made artefacts, which may include mining tailings and waste rock, organic residues such as vegetation debris from mine clearing, construction and demolition waste, water treatment sludge, and various other materials. These materials are readily available in mining areas, as they are often byproducts of mining operations. However, in many cases, they lack proper disposal and are stockpiled in heaps or dams, posing potential environmental and contamination risks. With appropriate geochemical and mineralogical assessments, as well as biological evaluations in the case of organic residues, these materials can be engineered into technosols according to their availability and intended future use. Due to their anthropogenic origin, technosols undergo pedogenic processes more rapidly than natural soils, often resulting in enhanced soil quality. This study aims to present the concept of technosols and showcase successful case studies, demonstrating how they can be constructed using mining tailings. Furthermore, it highlights their benefits through the lens of nature-based solutions and explores their potential to improve waste and tailings management in mining, as well as their role in mine closure and rehabilitation.

Keywords: nature-based solutions, soils, circular economy, mining waste, pedogenesis

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